Like A Moth To A Flame
by wrappedinreid83
Summary: Kate Callahan's replacement blows into the BAU like a wildfire, and immediately connects with Dr. Reid in a way that neither have ever felt before. The two cover their attraction with friendship until a new case brings them closer together than two agents should ever be. Will the two be able to escape their newest unsub with both their hearts and their lives in tact?


_"You looked at me then like you knew me, and I thought it really was Eden, and I couldn't take your eyes in because I was loving the hoof marks on your cheeks."_

— _**Toni Morrison**_ _(_ _ **Sula**_ _)_

The crisp early autumn wind blew wildly through the long waves of Audrey's golden brown hair as she moved on anxious feet through the surprisingly quiet early morning streets of Quantico, Virginia. Her heart raced inside of her chest as she imagined the day that was still set out before her, and how incredibly unprepared she felt to actually deal with it. It had only been six days since she had received word that she had been chosen for the position that she had applied for nearly a dozen times over the past six years, and only three incredibly short hours since she had received the call telling her that she needed to report first thing this morning. This was the day that Audrey had been waiting for ever since the realization had hit her that a life of chasing Mexican drug lords up and down the coast just wasn't all that it had once cracked up to be. This was the day that had the possibility to change absolutely everything.

"Oh, pardon me." A woman, appearing in her mid-forties said kindly as she stepped casually to the side of Audrey, just as the two crossed paths in front of Audrey's favorite bistro that sat on the edge of town. Audrey nodded as she reached for the door just past the woman, and then swiftly entered the small brick building, praying that her favorite latte would settle her nerves that she so desperately needed to be at ease.

The line moved slowly in front of Audrey as she greedily took in the indulgent aroma of freshly brewed espresso beans that hung heavily in the air around her, and simultaneously also stared down at the illuminated screen of her slightly outdated iPhone. She couldn't believe that on a day such as today she didn't even have so much as a text message from Ian encouraging her when he knew damn well how on edge she had been ever since she had been notified about her most recent career change. How could he just so easily ignore her when he knew how much this meant to her? How much it could mean for _them_?

"Miss?" The gentle voice of the barista in front of her called, suddenly jarring Audrey from her inner worrying, and returning her to the reality around her.

"Oh, hi. I mean, good morning. Could I please get a large vanilla latte with skim milk and just a little cinnamon please?" She asked as her emerald eyes focused in on the fair haired man in front of her wearing an ivory apron, and a tag on his shirt that alerted her that his name was in fact Steve.

"Of course. Is there anything else that I can get for you today? Maybe a blueberry muffin or one of our world famous cinnamon rolls?" Steve asked almost overly cheerily as he smiled brightly in Audrey's direction. Audrey shook her head as she handed him her debit card, and then mentally reminded herself that she most definitely did not need a cinnamon roll...no matter how famous they might be.

"No thank you, Steve. I think the latte will be all." She said just as the man took her card from her, and then swiftly ran it through his machine. Steve nodded as he returned Audrey's card to her, and then a moment later produced a large tan colored cup with steam flowing steadily from the top of the lid.

"You have a good day now, Miss. Come back and see us again real soon." He said as Audrey took the cup carefully from his hand. Audrey's smile faltered slightly as something in the barista's voice caught her as strange and his pale blue eyes lingered just a little too long on hers, but then she finally forced herself to turn around, accounting her sudden unease to her incredible lack of quality sleep.

"Ah...Oh holy...oh boy that's hot!" Audrey heard a masculine (but somewhat squeaky) voice yelp suddenly from in front of her just as her hand that so carefully gripped her coffee cup came in direct contact with a very tensely held chest. Audrey's heart jumped up into her throat as she realized that the lid on her coffee cup must have somehow come loose, and that now a portion of the contents of her very hot drink were covering the person in front of her's pale ivory colored shirt.

"Oh my God! Oh my God, I am so sorry. Shit! Sir, are you okay?" Audrey asked in a panic as she started desperately scanning the chest of the man in front of her, and also prayed silently to herself that she hadn't just gained herself a personal injury lawsuit to go with her already not so amazing start to her first day.

"Oh...oh….ouch…" The man quietly whined to himself as Audrey watched him beginning to pull the saturated material away from his pale skin, and then shift the tan satchel that he carried further back behind one of his broad shoulders. Audrey gritted her teeth tightly together as she prepared for the man in front of her to start shouting obscenities at her for being so incredibly careless, but when he didn't, she slowly gained the courage to lift her stare to eventually meet his.

"Sir, I am so...so…" Audrey started just as her terrified emerald eyes leveled with the deep chestnut gaze that looked down at her first in a roughly edged annoyance, but then eventually in what appeared to be almost a slightly pained sense of curiosity.

"...Sorry…" She finally finished as she continued to wait for the angry screaming to begin, but once again to her surprise, it didn't.

"It's okay. I...um...I was standing closer behind you than I should have been." The man said quickly as he swallowed thickly, and then began brushing over his dampened shirt with one of his incredibly large hands. Audrey shook her head as she quickly waved off the man's words as absolute nonsense, and then immediately continued the apology that she was quite sure she would never feel was completely finished.

"No, no. This was totally my fault. Are you okay? How badly are you burned?" She asked as she reached out toward the man's shirt to begin to inspect for damages, but then stopped dead in her tracks when he quickly pulled away from her as if he was almost scared. Audrey quickly took a step back as she felt her skin go flush at his reaction.

"I'm fine...sorry. Germaphobe." The man struggled as Audrey took in the slight embarrassment on the man's face, and then found herself smiling, thankful that his reaction to her wasn't simply that of sheer repulsion.

"Of course, I just...are you sure that you are okay? I mean that coffee had to be like a million degrees or something." She continued anxiously prodding as she looked the tall thin man over once again, and carefully avoided meeting his dark eyes that she found strangely unnerving.

"Actually the average cup of coffee is served at about 160 to 180 degrees fahrenheit. Once removed from its heat source it immediately begins…" He started just as Audrey finally looked up from his chest, and then eventually allowed a bright smile to move across her face. The man stopped and cleared his throat uncomfortably before he took a cautionary step back. Audrey continued to smile as she watched him move nervously before her.

"I'm fine." He finished quickly as he ran his fingers through his mess of wavy dark hair. Audrey nodded, and then shifted her weight slightly as she reached down into her sleek onyx colored purse. She pulled out a pen and then a small piece of paper. Carefully, she scrolled her information across the once blank surface, and then eventually handed it to the man.

"Well, if you end up not being so fine or when you get the bill from your dry cleaners, please give me a call. I would at least like to pay for ruining your shirt." Audrey said as she pushed the piece of paper into the man's hand, careful not to make contact with his skin after his previous reaction to her attempted touch. The man nodded as he glanced at the paper quickly just before closing his long fingers tightly around it.

"Thank you, but I think I'll be alright….Audrey." He said uncomfortably as he shifted his weight slightly once again, and then quickly licked his full slightly chapped lips. Audrey felt a strange sensation move through her system as her name left the tall man's lips, and then her eyes almost forcefully once again returned to his. The deep whiskey color of his stare seemed to almost entrance her as she stood staring at him, and the faint purplish red color that surrounded those beautiful orbs, well it made her wonder if he had also been missing the same good night's sleep that she had.

"Well, please call me if you change your mind about the shirt or if wearing my latte ends up making you feel not so fine after all. I really should probably get going though, or I'm going to be late for the first day that has mattered in a long time. I'm really sorry again…." Audrey said as she stepped back toward the bistro's only exit, suddenly realizing that she didn't even know the name of the man that she had just accidentally assaulted with her coffee that she now only had half of. The man nodded as he continued to watch her strangely, and then eventually parted his lips.

"Spencer." Was all he said as he finally smiled just slightly in her direction. Audrey smiled as she nodded, and then took another step toward the door as she let out a very careful breath.

"Well, sorry...for the millionth time...Spencer." She choked out awkwardly as she finally broke eye contact with the man, and then very swiftly finally made her way out the bistro's door.

About an hour after the worst coffee run of her entire life, Audrey found herself sitting silently in a very dimly lit office, and staring across an expansive mahogany desk at the one and only, Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner. Audrey tapped her nails nervously against the thin material of her black dress pants as she desperately scoured her brain for all of the facts that she had gathered over the past week in regards to the man sitting before her, but her nerves were making it hard for her to keep almost any of the information straight. Here were the things that she found herself somehow still able to put together: She knew that Agent Hotchner had been the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit's team chief for over ten years, and that he ruled with an iron fist that apparently had the ability to come down on a person quite quickly, and without much warning at all. She knew that some of the agents on his team had come and gone quite frequently over the past couple of years, but that there was a core group of about five that had never left his side, even though it was rumored that a couple had tried. Audrey also knew that the stone faced man in front of her had a young son who would now be about ten years old, and very much to her behest she also knew the very tragic details of the death of that little boy's mother.

"Agent Baines, you have requested a transfer to the BAU more than ten times over the past six years. Would you mind telling me why?" Agent Hotchner finally asked, jarring Audrey from her inner cataloging, and returning her to the small slightly chilled room that she still so anxiously sat in. Audrey straightened herself up in her seat promptly at the sound of the man's deep emotionally void voice, and then very carefully tilted her head in his direction.

"Sir, I have been with CID ever since I graduated from the academy. I have spent the past eight years working primarily undercover, and embedding myself into the lives of some of the most dangerous cartels that most of this country will thankfully never even know exist. I have researched these groups' families, friends, affiliations and even dissected most of their childhood experiences in hopes that I would find the precise moment that catapulted them into the lifestyle that ended up stealing so many lives. However, due to either limited resources or even just the simple fact that my job was more about capture and less about research, the information that I gathered went unused and therefore the cycle that I was desperately attempting to stop, well it simply just continued." She started as she made it a point to hold the man's stare that was questioning her, and never look away no matter how desperately she wanted to. Agent Hotchner nodded as he leaned forward slightly in his chair.

"So, you want to work for the BAU to utilize the skills ignored by your previous team?" He asked as he folded his hands carefully in front of him, and then cocked his brow in Audrey's direction. Audrey took a breath, and then slowly shook her head.

"I want to work for the BAU because I want to help people, Sir. I believe that with the skill set I have I can do that more effectively as a part of your team. My time with CID was a great asset to both me and to my career, however it is just time to move on. There is so much more that I have to give to the bureau. More that I have to give to the BAU." She finished as she continued to hold the stare of the man in front of her, terrified that she might have said something wrong or sounded to brash in her conviction. The ebony haired man in front of her with almost obtrusive dark eyes was silent for a moment as he seemed to process her answer to his question, and then after an incredibly uneasy silence, he finally pushed himself up onto his feet to stand. Audrey followed suit and also stood facing him, finding herself holding her breath in an almost involuntary action.

"Welcome to the BAU, Agent Baines. Let's go meet the team then, shall we?" He asked as he reached out and shook Audrey's hand while giving her an approving nod. Audrey smiled as she nodded more excitedly than she knew she honestly should have, and then silently prayed that the fear that was so quickly building inside of her wasn't written all over her face.

After a brief tour of the BAU Headquarters' upper level, Audrey followed Agent Hotchner down the stairs from the second floor, and into the bullpen where he had advised her the rest of his team would be waiting. Audrey reminded herself that this would be a difficult transition at first, it always took time to truly find a home within a new team, but still she silently hoped that it wouldn't be as bad as she was imagining. Once she was fully emerged into the sea of cheaply made desks and office chairs, she stopped behind her new team chief, and awaited the introductions after he very formally cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room around him.

"Everyone, this is Agent Audrey Baines. She comes to us from CID, and specialized there in narcotics trafficking. Agent Baines, this is Agent Jareau." He began as he motioned toward a petite blonde woman with kind eyes, but very strong features that silently signaled to Audrey that she was quite the force to be reckoned with. Agent Jareau smiled as she reached out her hand to the new team member.

"It's Jennifer, actually. Pleasure to meet you." She said as Audrey shook her hand and returned her polite greeting as professionally as she could manage. Agent Hotchner continued pressing forward even though Audrey could still feel Agent Jareau's eyes on her as they moved.

"This is Agent Rossi, and Agent Morgan." He said as he turned toward two men who were standing off to the side of the group. One of the men Audrey recognized immediately as the author of one of her favorite books that she currently had on her bedside table. The other man she hadn't seen before, but he had a wide warm smile, perfectly chiseled features, and pristine caramel colored skin. She couldn't help but smile in return as she looked at him in admiration.

"Pleasure to meet you both. Agent Rossi, I'm a big fan." Audrey stuttered out as she shook both men's hands, and then stepped back just as she noticed Agent Morgan beginning to laugh.

"See man, you always hogging all the spotlight over here." He joked as his smile grew even wider, and then he bumped the shoulder of the older obviously Italian man beside him. Audrey smiled too as she felt her cheeks beginning to burn with embarrassment. She truly hoped that Agent Morgan hadn't taken offense to what she had said, but she figured that it would have been rude not to recognize an author as renowned as Agent Rossi was.

"Ignore him, he just hates when it isn't him that is the center of attention. And, thank you, by the way, Agent Baines. I heard about your work on the Mendoza case down in Mexico. Sounds like you will be quite the asset to our little team." He said warmly with a smile, and a quick wink. Audrey felt her cheeks burn even hotter at the compliment, and then nodded quickly in reply.

"Thank you, Sir." She said internally reeling at the fact that Agent Rossi had even heard her name before, let alone knew of any of her work.

"Agent Baines, this is Agent Prentiss." Agent Hotchner continued, sounding slightly annoyed with all of the small talk that was interrupting his introductions. A tall thin woman with dark hair, wild whiskey colored eyes, and a broad smile stepped out in front of Audrey as she extended her hand. Audrey took it, recognizing the woman immediately on sight.

"Welcome. It's nice to see you again. I think we crossed path's in London once a few years back." She said as she eventually released her grip on her new team member's hand. Audrey felt her skin chill slightly as she remembered the case that had brought her to the UK the year that Agent Prentiss was speaking of, but she tried to keep her expression as neutral as possible.

"It's nice to see you again, too, Agent Prentiss. It's been a long time." Audrey replied cooly in response.

"And…" Agent Hotchner started, but just then the sound of high heels clicking against hard tiled floor began echoing loudly throughout the room, and then the sound of high pitched squealing immediately began to follow.

"Agent Baines, oh my God you're here! Hi! I'm Penelope or Garcia, or tech goddess extraordinaire. It is so good to finally meet you. I have read all about you in your file and I am so glad that we have another deliciously strong woman on the team. Love the shoes by the way. Are you a hugger? Okay, well I'm a hugger." The blonde bubbly woman who practically flew into the room chattered as she then threw her arms around Audrey, and pulled her into a very warm (and completely surprising) hug. Agent Hotchner smiled an almost strained looking smile (Audrey couldn't lie, it seemed strange to see him not look completely neutral), and then he nodded kindly in Penelope's direction.

"Yes, and this is Penelope Garcia. She is our senior tech analyst, and the reason why we run out of coffee so often." He said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Penelope giggled as she finally released Audrey from her grips, and then took a couple steps back immediately beginning to search the large room around her.

"Hey, where's Reid? Has he had a chance to meet the newbie yet? We all know how he loves change." She asked as she continued to eye the space around her. Agent Prentiss shrugged as she too then joined in the search of the agent who had apparently suddenly gone missing.

"I saw him this morning when I first came in. He said something about needing a new...oh well speak of the devil." She said with a smile as she nodded back toward the stairs on the opposite side of the room from where they stood. Audrey slowly turned around to greet the final agent that she was to be introduced to, but the second that she completed her action she immediately felt her heart leap up, and lodge itself deep inside of her throat.

"Agent Baines, this is Dr. Spencer Reid. Reid, Agent Baines comes to us from CID and is the newest member of our team." Agent Hotchner announced formally as Audrey stood transfixed staring at the same tall man with haunting eyes that barely just an hour before she had doused with her burning hot latte.

"It's very nice to meet you, Agent Baines. You look like you've had a long morning. Coffee?" Dr. Reid asked as a small smile drifted onto his lips, and he lifted a familiar looking tan cup into the air in front of him. Audrey remained frozen as she stood staring at the man in front of her, and then immediately felt all of the color drain away from her face. The first day that had mattered in a long time sure as hell wasn't going as planned.

 _ **Please drop a comment below if you like where this is going so far. I know it's just the beginning, but I have big plans if there is an interest. Thank you for reading!**_


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